Ever since its inception in 2004, Facebook has constantly changed the digital marketing landscape with its revolutionary products. And Facebook Messenger is one of its greatest examples.
Today, Facebook Messenger is the most popular messaging application, with 1 .3 billion users already on Facebook. According to recent data from Statista, Facebook Messenger is the leading mobile messaging application in the US, with 133 million active users in 2020. Therefore, Facebook provides the perfect platform for marketing.
Consumers today expect omnichannel experiences from brands they like. The best way to engage them and build trust and loyalty is to connect with them right where they are. However, the problem is that brands don’t have a strategy to engage people who try to connect with them on social media. Many brands often leave customer experience to their social media teams, who might not have answers to all their questions.
Therefore, it’s important to include Facebook Messenger as a customer service channel for your clients, and automate it using chatbots, to make it available 24/7.
What is a Facebook Messenger Chatbot?
A Facebook Messenger chatbot is an automated messaging tool that is integrated into the Messenger app. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to converse with people.
You probably already have a strategy to have engaging conversations with your customers on Messenger and strengthen your relationships. But is that enough?
The bots that brands use, are much simpler and only work on Facebook Messenger. They are not omnichannel customer service platforms.
There’s a gap between social media teams and customer service teams. Most social media teams aren’t concerned with questions or complaints they receive via Facebook Messenger. Many times, they don’t even have appropriate answers to customer requests. This can lead to longer response times which, in turn, causes a terrible customer experience.
Why Should You Use Facebook Messenger Bots for Your Business?
Leveraging Facebook Messenger bots comes with two major advantages.
- Building a Messenger bot is cheaper than building a mobile app for your business. If you build an exclusive business app, there are less chances that consumers will use your app. However, Facebook Messenger is the second most popular mobile messenger app. Potential buyers are more likely to connect with your business on Messenger.
- The second advantage is that there is less competition in the field. In the first quarter of 2019, Facebook announced over seven million active advertisers using the platform. There are only 300K active business bots on Messenger. This means that you can get an edge over the competition by introducing a bot for your business.
Source: El Blog de Borja Fernández
How Can Facebook Messenger Chatbots Help Your Business Grow?
AI-powered Facebook Messenger chatbots are incredible tools to:
- Build awareness by reaching your target audience directly and educating them.
- Acquire new customers by delivering personalized content experiences, identifying, and nurturing leads.
- A bot answering common customer questions can help you save time and reduce costs by offering an effective customer service experience.
- Enable transactions/payments to allow consumers to browse your products and services, while also giving them the chance to buy them directly through Messenger conversations.
- Streamline product purchases and upsell through personalized product recommendations.
- Give customized offers to your customers.
- Collect your users’ data for future retargeting and re-engaging strategies.
Facebook Messenger is an amazing customer service channel, so it’s imperative to integrate a chatbot to your strategy; that way, your business will be ahead of the competition.
